Asymmetric Effect of Media Tone on IPO Underpricing and Volatility

Abstract

Because of asymmetric information between issuing companies and investors, media coverage plays an important role in conveying information to investors during an initial public offering (IPO). The stock price is affected by a large amount of information released to the public through media coverage. Using a comprehensive sample of 1,075 IPOs on China’s stock market from 2009 to 2016, this paper conducts a textual analysis to determine the tone of media coverage and examines the relationship between media tone and IPO underpricing as well as post-IPO volatility. The empirical results show that media coverage during an IPO is significantly negatively associated with IPO underpricing, which confirms our hypothesis that the tone of media coverage reduces the degree of information asymmetry between investors and issuers, regardless of whether the tone is positive or negative. Consistent with prospect theory, investors are more sensitive to media coverage with a negative tone.